Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath, leader of the Rural Independent Group of TDs has sharply criticised a decision to increase the pay of two senior civil servants, overseeing the Departments of Housing and Children. Deputy McGrath says the pay increases are unjustified given the what he calls the “catastrophic housing crisis and soaring living costs.”
The Cabinet approved a €15,000 annual for Graham Doyle, Secretary General at the Department of Housing, and a €13,000 increase for Kevin McCarthy at the Department of Children. Deputy McGrath says Mr Doyle’s salary is now €255,000 while homelessness has surged by over 33% during his tenure, with 12,847 people in Emergency Accommodation as of July 2023.
Deputy McGrath says Cabinet approval for pay increases to officials who oversee two underperforming departments is a failure on the Cabinet’s part to perform their duty to the public.
Instead Deputy McGrath says housing policy should be reviewed and changed due to the increases in homeless and rising house prices and rents.
